> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://itsfoss.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # KDE Plasma 6 Unwrapped: 6 Features to Elevate Your Experience - URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/kde-plasma-6-dev/ - Published: 2023-12-04T10:19:00.000Z - Updated: 2023-12-04T10:20:28.000Z - Description: KDE Plasma 6 sounds impressive. Learn what's in store for you. - Author: Ankush Das - Tags: Development Updates, News, #Import 2025-11-08 21:15 [KDE Plasma 5.27](https://itsfoss.com/kde-plasma-5-27-release/) was an interesting release, marking the end of the 5.x series. However, we were eagerly awaiting the KDE Plasma 6 release, and didn't know what to expect a few months back. But, that has now changed. With the release of **KDE Plasma beta 1**, we now have a better look at this release than ever before, and guess what?, we also have a final release date; **KDE Plasma 6 will be released on February 28, 2024**. A special shout out to *Nate Graham* from KDE, who has been sharing important highlights of the KDE Plasma 6 release on [his blog](https://pointieststick.com/?ref=itsfoss.com) as always! So, allow me to share the important bits. ## KDE Plasma 6: The Best Time to Change Defaults ⭐ With a major version bump, users should expect **major changes that improve the out-of-the-box user experience**. And one of the crucial things that will let them do that is **far more flexibility with the default settings**. Let's dive in and see what's in store. ### 1\. Wayland by Default ![a screenshot of kde plasma 6 beta 1 about system info](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/12/KDE_Plasma_beta1_a.png) With KDE Plasma 6, the **Wayland session will be the preferred default option**. The **X11 session will not be going away**. So, you or the developers of distributions can still override the default and have X11 remain the default. The developers have had to [iron out](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-workspace/-/merge%5Frequests/2188?ref=news.itsfoss.com#note%5F676355) certain issues and several NVIDIA-specific problems. But, those are now ready, you can expect a really neat Wayland experience when the final release comes out. ### 2\. Improved Discover ![a screenshot of kde plasma 6 improved discover app](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/12/KDE_Plasma_beta1_b.png) When Flatpak or Snap is set as the default app sourcing backend, Discover will now show a “***Newly Published & Recently Updated***” section on the homepage. According to Nate, this has been done in a bid to “make the Linux app ecosystem feel more alive”. [![Follow It's FOSS on Google News](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/04/Follow-us-on-Google-News.png)](https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMInpoAswofO4Aw?ref=itsfoss.com) ### 3\. Floating Panel by Default ![a screenshot of kde plasma 6 floating panel](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/12/KDE_Plasma_beta1_c.png) While Windows 11 originally copied (or maybe got inspired? 👀) the design from KDE for the floating panel, it was an optional feature with KDE Plasma. So, to give users something new out-of-the-box, the **floating panel is now in the default look of KDE Plasma**. With what I saw during my usage, it feels and works pretty well. ### 4\. Accent-color-tinted header area to distinguish active windows ![a screenshot of kde plasma 6 accent color tinted header area settings](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/12/KDE_Plasma_beta1_d.png) To help you **better differentiate and identify an active window**, you will find the header area of the working window tinted with your accent color set. This way, the open windows get a subtle visual difference, telling you which one's the active one. You can explore the technical details of this implementation on the Plasma Desktop [GitLab page](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/issues/78?ref=news.itsfoss.com). ### 5\. New Task Switcher ![a screenshot of kde plasma 6 updated task switcher](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/12/KDE_Plasma_beta1_e.png) A Task switcher greatly influences the user experience for multitaskers. With KDE Plasma 6, **they decided to use a “Thumbnail Grid” task switcher**, which includes the icon, and a thumbnail, giving quick visual cues for different users. ### 6\. Wallpaper Menu in Settings ![a screenshot of kde plasma 6 wallpaper menu in the settings](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/12/KDE_Plasma_beta1_f.png) This is something that many desktop environments out there feature, **it was weird to see Plasma not having a dedicated Wallpaper page in the Settings menu** for changing the wallpaper and related settings. But finally, it is here. ### 6\. Better Night Light ![a screenshot of kde plasma 6 night light settings menu](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/12/KDE_Plasma_beta1_g.png) The Night Light page has also been improved, it now **shows a very handy graphical representation** of the active/inactive periods, alongside the transitions times. ### 🛠️ Other Changes and Improvements There are plenty of miscellaneous changes too, here are some highlights: - Support for **hardware cursors on NVIDIA GPUs**. - Double-Clicking to open files/folders is the **new default behavior**. - Ark, the file archiver now has a new “**Extract here and delete archive**” option. - Auto-Hide panels now **follows the user-set delay setting** that is used for other screen edge effects. - KRunner and other searches based on it **now feature proper visual click feedback** when clicking on a search result. - A bug fix for Dolphin that **fixes a common crash** that could happen during large file transfers to other locations. You can go through the other changes listed on [Nate's blog post](https://pointieststick.com/2023/12/01/this-week-in-kde-changing-the-wallpaper-from-within-system-settings/?ref=itsfoss.com) to explore technical details about the KDE Plasma 6 release. ## How to Get KDE Plasma 6? You can expect KDE Plasma 6 with future Fedora 40 spin (Kinoite variant) release. Other than that, there are no other confirmed distributions to feature KDE Plasma 6 after its release. If you are willing to experiment, and aren't concerned about stability, you can try [KDE Neon](https://neon.kde.org/?ref=itsfoss.com)'s Unstable edition to get your hands on KDE Plasma 6. *💬* *I can't wait to get my hands on the KDE Plasma 6 release. The overall progress looks quite promising to me. What do you think?*